A World Alone
by Smarmy Puggles
Summary: It had been a slow year. A year of regrets, and certainly, a year of wishing that things would have played out differently... A look into Glinda's life the year following Elphie's departure. Oneshot. Bookverse.


**Hello again! Another oneshot for you! I know I said i'd be staying away from angst for a while, but I just couldn't help myself, so yes. Do stick with it though, I think you'll prefer this one! Reviews are very much appreciated!**

It had been a slow year. A year of regrets, and certainly, a year of wishing that things would have played out differently. It had been just under twelve months since she had kissed those thin green lips for what she believed to be the last time. Elphie had gone, not a trace left behind. The girl did not want to be found. Glinda – for she went by that name now, in honour of Doctor Dillamond- had spent the year despising what looked back at her from the looking glass each morning.

To all who knew the blonde before the trip, she had changed. Entered a spiral that seemingly could not be stopped. She plummeted, falling further and further into the regret of her decision. Oh what she would give to turn back the clock, jump out of that carriage and chase down the lanky green thing. The last sight she saw her one true love.

From childhood, there was one goal she had strived to achieve – to create a happiness that would radiate from her, and leak into each and every person in the room. She had that, when Elphie stood next to her, she was happy. Not that false bravado of happiness that she had managed to achieve in society, but a genuine happiness. Naturally, Elphie had taken that away with her.

Nanny had taken one look at the broken girl and relief washed over her, quickly followed by strong concern. She had emerged from her and Nessa's room due to the sound of sobbing. She did not get far before noticing Glinda pushed up to the door of her room. She couldn't bare to cross the threshold without her Elphie. It would make everything real. Until she saw the empty room, she could still pretend that Elphie was there. The small girl rocked herself, she had folded in. Her universe had folded in.

Apothecaries had administered pills to remedy the weakened state of mind, and alleviate the low mood. She took them from Nanny's wrinkled hand. Nanny was homely, she gave out a feeling of comfort, the scratchy material of her shawls would pull Glinda back to her childhood, before the pressures of society had been thrown upon her. It reminded her of her Ama. More tears were spilled.

She tried to continue with her life, attending lectures, and always trying ignore the fact that Elphie was not waiting for her outside the door, like all of those times that she had, a smile on her face, and a hand to kiss. Instead she was met by a crisp corridor.

Occasionally, the charmed circle would take her out into the sun to sit beneath their tree, the one where the breeze was ever so pleasant. She couldn't really feel it though. The air felt stale, and colours seemed to blur into grey. She just sat, staring into nothingness, eyes glazed over as the conversation continued around her. Sometimes she would survey people around her, a more observant streak having been developed.

She thought that the first week would have been the hardest, but Elphie had left more of an impression than she would have known. At least in their first week of parting, she had little reminders of Elphie dotted across her chest and neck. Reminders of the green girl's love. After those seven days, the marks began to fade, which led to thoughts of herself fading from Elphie's memory. She would stand in front of the looking glass and stare at the purple bruises, hoping that maybe they would stay forever.

The morning that she looked, roughly a week later, the marks had completely vanished. No sign of Elphie now. She had broken down on the counter top, Nanny was quick to rush in, push more of those bitter pills into her mouth. Nanny had lead her back into the empty room, more tears escaped at the sight of the dusty bed, she would not allow Nessa to touch it. It had to be perfect for when Elphie came back for her. _If_ Elphie came back for her.

Nanny pulled the comforter up and over her, before perching next to her on the bed.

"I miss her too, but we can't stop living. You know she wouldn't want that" Galinda had looked at her then, the pills still not affecting her steady gaze. She looked into the older woman's eyes.

"She didn't want me either" came Glinda's choked response.

Nanny looked sceptical.

"She was devoted to you. She would have moved mountains to see you smile. I could see it. You knew it too."

A tear escaped Glinda's eye then, she watched as it dripped from the end of her nose.

"I love her. Nanny, I love her more than words, and she doesn't want me. She left me"

Nanny's wrinkled forehead then became more creased as the words were spoken.

"I had thought as much. You don't know what goes on in that girl's head. She'll find a way to show you if she still loves you"

Another tear rolled off her nose as she was gently pushed back onto the bed. Sleep came sparingly that night.

* * *

><p>It had been a full year. The seasons had come and gone, and Elphie had not bothered to send a sign as Nanny had promised. Glinda believed that Elphie's love had left her for good.<p>

The day before graduation had finally rolled around, just one more rotation of the time dragon clock, and she could leave behind the corridors that Elphie had once walked down, reminders everywhere. Her parents would be arriving soon, staying in a hotel for the night before watching their daughter graduate.

They had promised a meal and a good catch up beforehand. They knew their daughter had changed, though asking for clarification would only cause upset, a sulk that would last for weeks on end. It was best not to ask, if she wanted to, she would tell them in her own time.

The Charmed Circle had taken her to the tree again. The tree where Elphie's fingers had first shyly moved through her own. High summer had brought with it the heat of the sun, the shade of the tree and the lemonade provided by Crope were both very welcome.

This was their last chance to sit together as students, before expectations were heaped onto their shoulders, and jobs or family life awaited. They prattled on about their plans for the next few years, and ate from baskets of food. Fiyero and Nessa still had another year, so the parting of ways was not as real for them yet.

The group had all attempted to involve the blonde in the conversation, she just responded with one word answers and continued staring forwards, right over their heads. They were used to this now. Just left her to it usually. Boq had asked her something, maybe about her degree? She didn't know. Her gaze remained forwards.

Boq looked at her as her shoulders had begun to heave, her breathing rate so very high that he thought the poor girl was about to keel over.

"Are you okay, Glinda?" he'd asked. The blonde didn't respond.

She swallowed thickly. She was close to hyperventilating. Her face had turned red and she had an indescribable look on her face. Something akin to a sob fell from her mouth. The attention of the circle was now very much directed at her. She stood, gaze still fixated on a point in the distance. One leg rose as she took a step forwards. Tears had begun to stream down her face and she was beaming. A complete smile on her face. Boq had looked to the others in confusion, perhaps the girl had finally gone over the edge.

They watched as she took off at a sprint. She stumbled and faltered, though her pace did not slow. Colours were filtering back into her vision, and Glinda could feel the sun, smell the flowers and hear her heartbeat in her ears.

She'd whispered something that sounded like 'Elphie' though her throat was thick with tears. The circle watched as she raced down the hill, but failed to notice the spectre that had just walked in through the gates, swathed in black despite the harsh sun, one battered suitcase in it's hand.

Upon noticing the blonde barrelling towards them, they had stopped and thrown their case to the floor. The hood fell back slightly, and a green face was exposed to the world. She was crying too. She swiped at the tears with her sleeves before throwing out her arms to the blonde. Galinda leapt, and for the first time in so very long, Elphie was there to catch her.

She was wrapped in a tight embrace and cried into Elphie's shoulder. Elphie smelled unclean, but Glinda didn't care. They stood that way for a while, shuffling about without breaking the hug in desire to get closer to one another. Glinda pressed kisses to every exposed part of Elphaba's face, down her neck and to those palms that had caressed her so lovingly. The green girl responded by pushing her face into blonde curls, smelling that clean smell that was Glinda.

"You came back. You came back for me" She was trembling. Elphie could feel it from where she held her.

"I came to watch my love graduate. If she would still have me – that is" she looked into the blonde's eyes, both tinged red from the tears. Glinda had sobbed and thrown her face against Elphies, kissing her with a passion gathered from each and every fibre of her being. The green girl was quick to reciprocate. A year had been more than long enough to miss the taste of those lips. After a short while, Glinda pulled away. She had expected to feel angry, though the feelings materialised as sobs, so she cried a little bit more.

Elphie held her throughout, until the tears had slowed, and she looked up with a smile.

"I just cannot believe it's you. It's really you" She was running her fingers over a green face at this. Elphie had looked down and smiled. Glinda had noticed the charmed circle then, still sitting with looks of shock on their faces. Whether that was directed at the very unexpected reappearance of Elphie, or the very passionate kiss they had just shared, she was not certain. Maybe it was both.

"Lets get you up to our room. You smell awful" and proceeded to lead her back. Elphie had laughed at that, and a final tear trailed down her face. She rubbed at it quickly. Passing the charmed circle, she threw up a hand and twiddled her fingers, a brief wave. Their faces had still not altered. She smiled.

Upon arriving at their room, Glinda had locked both doors and led Elphie over to her still untouched bed. The room was complete again. She disappeared into their bathroom, beckoning Elphie in behind her. The green girl quite happily followed. She leaned down and kissed the little thing again, just because she could, and she'd missed those lips something fierce.

Glinda had smiled into the kiss, then pulled away to fill the sink with warm water, to clean the bottom of Elphie's filthy hair. She worked quickly and carefully as Elphie kept an eye on the proximity of the wetness to her scalp. She needn't have worried as Galinda had dealt with it quickly, then used a quick drying spell to remove the moisture. Elphie raised a brow at that.

"I didn't get my degree for exploding sandwiches. Besides, I wanted to learn it. When you'd gone, I worried Elphie. I worried you might not have shelter, if you were cold, did you have food?" Elphie silenced the list with a slender finger.

"I shan't be leaving you again. I can't go on without you." Galinda's heart swelled at this, though she didn't know how to vocalise this too well, so faltered on the spot, attempting to hold back the tears that were threatening to spill again.

She then returned to their cupboards to retrieve the wood ash for the roots of Elphie's hair, a surprisingly useful product used from her young years. She massaged the dust into Elphie's scalp, who was more than enjoying those little fingers weaving through her hair. She may have continued for longer than necessary, but she believed their parting was adequate reason to do this.

With clean hair, Elphaba tied it on top of her head whilst Galinda retrieved her oils.

"You still have them?" Elphaba questioned

"They reminded me of you. When it all became too much, I'd lock myself in here, just smell the bottle for a little while. It calmed me" Elphie gave her a sad smile.

"I'm so sorry, my love. I am so, so sorry." Glinda turned back to her.

"You're back now. That's all that matters" Elphie had smiled and had reached out to take the bottle from Glinda.

"Please, let me." Elphie could only let her. She removed the tattered frock, putting green flesh on display for another for the first time in a year. She had tried to cover her exposed body, but the blonde would have none of it.

"My beautiful Elphie" she had gurgled. She was thinner. Glinda would remedy that with meals, and love. Some tender loving care was all it would take. She had taken each of Elphie's limbs, rubbing the oil into the grubby skin, before removing it a short while later. She then continued to Elphie's torso, and watched as brown eyes vanished behind green lids. A satisfied smile on her face. The process was repeated once more. Glinda had said something about dirt. Really, she'd just wanted to touch Elphie.

The green girl then brushed her teeth whilst Galinda stood next to her, an adoring smile directed at her. With a clean Elphie, the pair returned to the main room, and Glinda pulled a dress out of Elphie's wardrobe for her to wear. She didn't comment on how the thing hung from her body even more so now than it had a year ago.

She pulled the green girl to the bed and sat behind her, attempting to tackle the knotted hair. Winces and grunts ensued until Elphie was restored to her former glory, that inky hair spilling over her shoulders. Glinda could not help but run her hands through it. Elphie's arms fastened around her waist as she was pulled into a very much needed kiss.

She lay back into the soft pillows, a luxury she had not had for a year, and held the blonde to her, one arm behind her head. Galinda snuggled down into the embrace. Oh how she had missed the feel of those skinny arms. They did not disengage until a knock was heard at the door. A very much contented Glinda begrudgingly climbed from the embrace and moved to answer it. She couldn't wipe the smile off her face even if she had wanted to.

Opening the door, she was scooped immediately into a hug. Both parents had swept her up, squeezing the daughter that they thought they had lost to that spiralling depression, but now, it looked as if their Glinda was back. The smile on her face and colour in her cheeks were evidence enough.

"My, you look like a changed woman" Larena had chortled. Her father gazed down at her smiling, before growing a mock-serious look.

"Is the ragamuffin boy I saw you kissing responsible for this?" He had asked. He had said it in jest, but the phrase still held the protectiveness of a father.

Galinda had blushed then, and looked back to Elphaba who was sitting on her bed. She was looking at the floor. Galinda had gestured to Elphaba.

"That's my ragamuffin boy" she'd laughed at that last word, relief still leaking through her voice. Her father had looked to the green girl on the bed and smiled at her.

"Hello again, Its wonderful to see you. You've bought the colour back to my petal's cheeks, and I am so grateful. Love her, and take care of her" He'd made his way into the room and clapped Elphie on the back.

"I think we need a celebratory meal, for my darling getting her first, and for getting her happiness back" He'd said. Elphie jumped up at the results

"A first?! You didn't mention it, oh my beautiful, sweet, clever girl. I am so proud of you" She'd swept the blonde up and spun her around, placing kisses on her face, evidently forgetting the embarrassment she'd just felt of having Glinda's parents in the room.

Both parents watched the display, Larena linking her fingers with Highmuster. A smile graced each face.

That night, they all ate together, and Galinda was more than excited to get her Elphie back to their room, and just lie in her arms. Her plan was followed, and the next morning, as Glinda stepped up to the podium, Elphie stood at the front of the crowd, cheering and clapping alongside her parents. She couldn't stop smiling.

It had been an eventful year, the heartbreak she felt all that time ago was forgotten. She had her Elphie back, she had her happiness back, and the world was a brighter place, chances and opportunities falling at her feet. Returning to that green face after their busy days at work made all the stress worth it. She was no longer the sad girl. She was the girl who couldn't stop smiling.


End file.
